Best advice: Listen to your body and get in touch with what it has to say!
So I recently traveled. It was a great opportunity and a great next step toward regaining some life in my life. However, anyone who's ever tried to manage IBS issues knows, even short jaunts can be troublesome to our digestive programs.
Besides change in routine & eating habits, much less diet.. Somehow my body seems to get stage fright when varying commodes, that can give rise to varying bladder & bowel extremes, if you know what I mean..?
So upon my return it was no surprise that constipation was an issue... Let me spare you the details but to say I am now fully familiar with impaction & prolapse. And what felt like near death when combined with a fresh outbreak of blistering hives as a result of whatever may have lingered too long, as it where.
In an effort to get back on track, so to speak, I pursued fiber. Not additives or supplementals. The real thing via local seasonally grown produce!
While being mindful of those, previously discovered, disruptive Purines - autoimmune trigger; high in the likes of asparagus, spinach, mushrooms, cauliflower, & even green peas.
(http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=george&dbid=51)
And when confronted by the beautiful purple Aubergine (eggplant) I recalled a different lifetime when Eggplant Parmesan was one of my signature dishes.
Although, it'd been more than 20+years hence.. I planned for this to be the most epic, organic, all fresh & clean ingredient culinary masterpiece since.
And It Was!! I ate it for two days!!
But Not Without Regret!!
& a new appreciation for the power of Nightshades and the immediate & horrifying affects they have on me.
I'm simply astonished!!
Over the years I have heard of some people having dietary disagreement with this category of foods: peppers ~bell to spicy~, eggplant, as well as potatoes & tomatoes
Even as far back as studying Shakespeare I knew that, among the many potions & poisons, Bella Donna was a nightshade. Furthermore theres been much folklore and wives tales of the poisonous fruit-vegetable tomato which was once merely grown as an ornamental not an edible. If I'm not mistaken, even the poisonous apple depicted in Snow White was actually based on these ideals....
But, never did I imagine that I was actually affecting my digestive in a poisonous way.
This is a shocking revelation! I devour spicey & enjoy peppers (pablano, jalapeño, bell, etc.) of all varieties. I Love tomatoes fresh and raw or cooked, stewed, even stuffed. Same goes for baked potatoes & French fries, I adore & really rely on a good potato salad in lieu of the fries these days.
That being said, I have concluded that the cooking process & smaller portions allowed for fewer signs & less symptoms previously.
Nonetheless when confronted with the truth you must address it and that has what this eggplant parm fiasco has done ~ really driven the message home.
1st day ~ I did an extreme 180• from earlier intestinal distress, but actually thought that might be a good sign, eggplant acting as laxative.
2nd day ~ malaise & headache arrived but I attributed that to recent stressors.
3rd day ~ full on lethargy & grogginess, right hand swollen like a balloon, a fresh patch of urticaria rising, with muscle fatigue, bone pain, joint & tissue swelling, along with some breathing difficulties.
So a month in (from date I started putting these words together)... I am still working towards recovery & researching further.
Here are a few internet breadcrumbs for you...
http://fawesome.ifood.tv/health/347832-eggplant-allergy-causes-symptoms-and-cure
http://www.livestrong.com/article/328582-eggplant-inflammation/
http://www.westonaprice.org/health-topics/nightshades/
